The Ramen Detective
by highkai15
Summary: Inuyasha has finally been given the chance to use his police powers to find out what happened to Kagome 10 years ago. Although annoyed by his friends and total lack of privacy, it's not going to stop him from finding her, and getting more Ramen. Out there, Kagome tries to stop a disaster from a global threat, many years in the making.
1. Getting the Case

Inuyasha stared at his desk, looking at the shiny new badge just ordered from his superiors. He was 28 now, and had been long awaiting this moment to come. He'd been on the police force for so long, his father before him, and his brother too. His brother had moved onto better things, one of those damn agencies that all blended together by now. But he knew this was where he was meant to be. It's in his blood.

He grabbed the badge and moved towards the Lieutenant's office, ugly blue carpet leading the way. 'This department's a shithole,' he remembered, 'and it hasn't changed a bit since coming here when I was a kid.' He knocked on the door, and opened it when a voice called through.

Inuyasha closed the door behind him as LT. Totosai glared at him.

"You fucking idiot, I said to wait, not come in," Totosai said, just before quickly adding on the phone he was holding, "Not you sir. I'm afraid I have to call you back. Get that conference letter on my desk tomorrow." He hung up, and not even giving Inuyasha a chance, pulled out some papers from the desk he was at, and throwing it onto the coffee table nearby towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked down and saw the manilla folder with white sheets sticking out.

"What's this?" Inuyasha asked before opening it. As soon as he saw the paper, he stopped, any boredom or ramen leaving his mind. "Petition to re-open Case..." He stopped there, noticing there was nothing afterwards to indicate which case. "What case?"

Totosai sighed, "Where did I put my damn coffee?" He looked around, as Inuyasha screamed, "You're fucking holding it!" Totosai looked at the other hand and, although not surprised, took a sip and had a sigh, "So it is. You can add another mark on your performance review this week yourself if you're going to keep up the attitude."

Inuyasha didn't even bother to respond. "What case LT? I'm just trying to get something done here without you riding my ass all day."

Totosai took a sip of coffee before sighing yet again. 'He should probably get some plants in here the way he's releasing all that air,' Inuyasha thought before mentally shaking his head. Totosai stood up (painfully slowly) and bowed his head slightly before saying something that made Inuyasha speechless. "It's your choice," Totosai answered. "You have earned the privledge to request access to whichever case you want, permitted your behaviour is acceptable. I already know which case you want. It's been no secret that that case has been bugging you for so long."

Inuyasha said nothing, but his mind begging him to say the word that he hadn't uttered in years. He stared at Totosai, but in no way was he seeing him. He was seeing her.

"Kagome Higurashi." That's all he had to say. It hit his chest like an arrow piercing him. Totosai just nodded, giving him a brief introduction to filing the petition and sent Inuyasha out of the office.

Inuyasha closed the door, watching Totosai's blank face looking for his coffee again. "Inuya-!" Totosai didn't even get to finish as Inuyasha slammed his office door and raced down to filing to get this started. He was going to find out what happened to his best friend 10 years ago.

After a brief stop in filing, he grabbed his coat and cell phone, calling a number that was already on speed dial.

"You got the case re-opened?" Souta asked, surprised. "How did you convince them? They gave up years ago, and they just called the other week, asking about finally making a death certificate." Although he was a young man, he had been burdened by his sister's disappearance. It showed under his eyes, despite rebuilding a shattered life.

"I got promoted, and I think maybe being in a police family helped," Inuyasha said with an eyeroll. "It's gotta be good for something, with a bunch of dick cops in the same family. It's only being petitioned, it needs approval, but I will fight through hell if it means finding out what happened to your sister."

"She was your friend too," Souta remarked, "We all looked for her. There one moment..."

Inuyasha looked down at the sad food on his plate. In this dive bar where shady civillians and cops alike known to gather here. "I know, I know. As soon as it gets approved, we will have to go over the case again, and open a whole bunch of shit, and re-live that day. Are you able to handle that?"

Souta grimaced, but gave a small nod. "I understand. She would do the same for me."

After chatting for just a few more minutes, it was over, and they left, both leaving with mixed feelings. Pain, and sadness, a sliver of hope weighted by realism dangling in front of them.

Inuyasha's front door opened, squeaking, piercing his sensitive demon ears. 'Fucking landlord.' Inuyasha carefully opened the door the rest of the way and closing it. He threw his work bag near the front door, right at his newest art piece: hole in wall #4. Cursing at his caelessness, although blaming cheap shitty walls, he walked over to his landline and gave a quick dial. "Give me the goddamn landlord right now," he grunted.

He sat down on his living chair and waited to the horrid sound of waiting music. 'I'll stay on this phone as long as it takes, I'm not letting him win.' Half an hour of waiting and the landlord Hachi said his maintenence man would be there to fix the problem "soon." Inuyasha, realizing the uselessness of arguing just hung up. 'Fucking idiots. I need a shower.'

After taking a lengthy shower, he got dressed in some shorts and picked up his Playstation controller, ready to smash the shit out of any living being in Tekken. It was always his go to, feeling comforted everytime he engaged in a new battle...

*Knock knock knock*

Inuyasha looked at his apartment door, not even getting a second to get up before his door opened and squeaked the ever living shit out of his ears. Finally regaining some semblance of sound, he saw a sight he didn't think he'd see in a million years. "Shit, what the hell are you doing here?" Inuyasha gaped.

A man dressed in a purple jumpsuit with gold bracelets smiled. "Inuyasha! This is your apartment? I had no idea!"

"Miroku, what the fuck do you think you're doing here, and opening my damn door?!" Inuyasha yelled as he stood up, walking over to him.

Miroku scoffed. "That's how you treat your old high school buddy? I expected a hug." Inuyasha's claws extended slightly at the thought of that. "Or, you know, we could just shake hands." Miroku shrugged, looking at his friend for a second before returning to a chipper attitude. "So what's with this door?!"

SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK

Miroku moved the door back and forth relentlessly, bringing Inuyasha to his knees, screaming curse words and clutching his ears for dear life.

Miroku stopped moving the door and started talking. Inuyasha was still trying to comprehend through his shattered ear drums, and had no idea what Miroku was saying. " - great first day!" he finished, looking pleased.

Inuyasha growled until Miroku stopped smiling and saw on the floor a photo. Inuyasha looked and saw it was Kagome's picture, thrown from when the work bag was thrown. "Inuyasha... What are you doing with Kagome's photo?" he asked as he picked it up.

Inuyasha wasn't sure what to say at first. It had been years since he'd seen Miroku, but it was finally time to start getting a crack at this case, even though it hadn't even started yet officially."I have Kagome's picture because I'm going to re-open her case."

Miroku looked at him with surprise, and then sadness. "She didn't say goodbye. Just that note. No one has seen her since graduation, and you still want to look for her? She's either dead or doesn't want to be found it seems like..."

Inuyasha nodded solemnly. "I'm going to try to figure out what happened and track her down, before they close this case. Something about that note never seemed right to me. And I want to prove it. The police know it's not a runaway, but there was really nothing they could do except tell people to look. I'm going to change that."

They stared at each other for a minute, before Miroku finally said, "I would like to help however I can. I got plenty of free time now, and we knew her pretty well. Plus, you know I can be quite charasmatic." Miroku returned the picture to Inuyasha. "What do you say?"

Inuyasha gaped at him again. "How the fuck do you have free time if you are a maintenance guy? Didn't you say you just started?"

Miroku smiled. "I have plenty of free time because...  
I'm a terrible maintence guy."


	2. The Interview

"Look at our young new detective," said Totosai. "It's amazing he got this far to begin with. But I have to say, this is pretty depressing. Wouldn't you rather have real food?"

Inuyasha shook his head, broth dripping from his mouth. "It's my celebration, and everyone gets to have Ramen. You're lucky we have so many flavors here, or that any of you are getting any," Inuyasha slurping happily, taking another portion out of the communal pot.

The group of law enforcement looked dismally at the pot. The pot on the table with nothing else on it.

"Inuyasha... you didn't even bring bowls for everyone?"

Inuyasha threw a stack of flimsy paper plates across the table. "You guys should have invested in the emergency ramen bowl desk attatchment." He shrugged as he took another portion. "Got one for here, got one for home. Betcha feel stupid now, don't you?"

Totosai, looking more senile every step towards Inuyasha, held out the manilla folder, completed with a new label at the top: ACTIVE. Inuyasha took the folder without looking up from his ramen, tossed it aside and grabbed another portion of Ramen before stopping. 'Maybe I should be a little considerate...' He looked around at everyone gathered before asking, "Do you guys really want any? Like for sure?"

"Um, yeah, I d-"

Inuyasha glared at the poor soul who spoke up.

"-don't know, no I don't think so."

And just like that, the crowd dispersed. At least, that's what Inuyasha thought before realizing his Lt standing there. "That includes you too old man," Inuyasha protectively holding the communal pot hostage.

Totosai, worn down from Inuyasha's attitude, shook his head. "Keep it. I have something for you besides that folder." He motioned behind Inuyasha at a woman dressed sharply, but clearly cheaper clothing. "This is Sango, she is on loan from the cold case unit. She will be accompanying you."

Inuyasha stood up, still holding his Ramen, noodles flying all over Totosai across the table. "Whaddaya mean accompanying me?! I don't need a partner!"

Sango laughed incredulously as Totosai wiped away noodles. "She is going to be your partner. Despite you advancing so fast, everyone needs help. And working a cold case with a very short amount of time means you need extra help. I have also had the liberty of IT taking your laptop. You now need Sango to unlock your laptop, she has the only flashdrive encryption key. And if you want to get your paperwork and use police resources, you better work together."

Inuyasha flicked a noodle at Totosai's back as he watched him walk away. He then looked at Sango, a woman with some ferocity that it made him a little nervous.

"So where do you want to start?" Sango asked.

They traveled down the highway. Or at least they tried to.

"Let's start with the FUCKING HORN!" Inuyasha screamed at the traffic. Inuyasha could see the tire that was lost off the side to the road where some asshole had a car accident, wasting time.

"What's the rush? You weren't rushing through the ramen. In fact, you asked to grab more before going to wherever the hell you're taking me," she said.

Inuyasha flipped off the car trying to merge into the already full lane as soon as the opening came in the road.

"We are starting by - FUCKING MOVE - going to Kagome's brother's house - YOU ASSHOLE, JUST GO - and get the whole story."

Sango winced from her ears hurting right next to Inuyasha's howling. "Inuyasha..."

Inuyasha snapped, "WHAT? I'M TRYING TO DRIVE HERE?!"

Sango, raising her eyebrows said, "Nothing then. Nevermind."

An hour later, which should have only been a quick 15 minute travel, they arrived at the Higurashi Shrine. Bringing their notebooks and files, they went up the stairs and knocked on the door. Souta greeted them at the door, looking a little disheveled. "I thought you were going to be here earlier. That was not 20 minutes," he said.

Inuyasha just made his way past him, leaving Sango at the door, who quickly greeted Souta with a quick introduction and both following Inuyasha towards the dining room to sit with tea. They made themselves comfortable and getting files and notebooks out in front of them. Sango had everything laid out and looked at Inuyasha, knowing full well why he had an infuriated look on his face.

"Sango... You didn't want to tell me that Kagome's file is soaked with RAMEN JUICE?"

She shrugged. "You didn't seem to wanna know in the car when I wanted to tell you," she smirked.

After some less-than-innocent words escaping Inuyasha's mouth, he finally looked at Souta. "Tell me what you were doing before Kagome left. And since my notes are ruined, if you still have a copy of her runaway letter, I'll need that too," he said, shooting a glare at Sango.

Souta grabbed the letter first, and showed it to both of them.

Dear family, I have finally realized my independence and have gone off on my own. There is total disconnection in this house, and I now know that our love of family was a lie, and I don't want to see any of you anymore. I decided to go where no one will find me. You can't stop the evil within, and that is our family. Goodbye, Kagome.

A short note, with random scribbles through the paper.

"It seems so callous and cold," Sango said. "How was your home life with her?"

Souta smiled sadly. "She always loved everyone, we always played together. At least..." He paused. "At least she used to be."

Inuyasha cocked his head. "What do you mean? She wasn't happy?"

"She actually started changing a few months before she went missing. It was really unlike her." His minded faded back to a conversation his sister and him had.

'Souta,' she said, 'I don't have time to play, and I can't keep babying you. You should probably stop coming in my room too. You shouldn't be in here,' she said while slamming her bedroom door, hitting his back as she pushed him out.

'God, I was so crushed when she said that, she was never so mean.' Souta exhaled as he took a sip of tea. "It really seemed like she didn't want anyone near her, but there was no reason for it. She stayed in her room all the time, and I found some weird pictures."

Inuyasha and Sango looked at each other, both asking, "What pictures?"

Souta looked at them nervously. "I don't know if I have them anymore. I could ask mom, but she's sleeping, and I don't know if I really want to wake her. But I'll look."

As he left, Inuyasha asked Sango, "What do you think?"

Sango shook her head. "This definitely doesn't sound like a coincidence that she was moody and disappeared. Maybe we need to check her room." Souta returned back with a half torn paper. He gave it to the detectives.

It showed chains and and dark scribbles. Not so helpful.

"Is there anything you can tell us about this besides what we see?" Sango asked as Inuyasha smelled the paper. The faint scent of Kagome still lingered, or maybe that was just wishful thinking. He shook his head, he could swear it smells like her. "I think she definitely drew this," Inuyasha carefully said.

"I don't have the rest of the drawing, but I think that was one of the first ones she drew. I found it in her backpack one day when mom told me to get some paper." Souta looked nervous. "I don't think I have anything else. Mom couldn't stand looking at her things." He thought for a second. "I also think there were 3 or 4 lines curved one after another. Kind of like a rainbow, at least on the other part of the other half."

Inuyasha and Sango nodded. "Thanks Souta," Sango bowed, "Can we look at her room? Just for a minute? We don't want to wake up Ms. Higurashi, just see if there's anything else we can find."

After coming to her room, the detectives sent Souta to watch for his mom while they looked around. It was mostly empty now, just a few boxes and tattered curtains, with a broken window bolted shut. No items left. Room was cleaned. There's no crime scene. It became clear quickly that there wasn't much here. Inuyasha was searching the floor when he smelled something strange. "Sango, do you smell that?"

Sango shook her head. "What do you smell?"

Inuyasha closed his eyes and concentrated. What was it? It seemed like... "Cars." It took him a second but he could smell the exhaust of cars.

Sango was puzzled. "So what?"

"So? So the window is closed, so why can I smell cars?" Inuyasha looked around. It seemed clear. He walked to the window and sniffed. Definitely not the window. He looked around for the source and stopped dead in his tracks. "Sango."

Sango turned around and saw Inuyasha pointing at the wall, looking disturbed. "Inuyasha... There's nothing there. There's nothing in this room."

Inuyasha shook his head. "Look closer."

Sango walked toward the area Inuyasha was pointing to discover...

A peep hole above a box against the wall.

Sango inspected it. It was clean. Like a drill, not chiseled.

Inuyasha stared hard at it. "That's where her bed used to be. Right under that hole. And it looks like that hole goes all the way through the outside..."

He took another look around the room, focusing even harder. "Inuyasha." He turned around to look at Sango.

Sango pointed to the ceiling. Miniscule holes were all over the ceiling, very different from the rest of the house. "Those aren't peep holes though. Were those there before?"

"No. Definitely not." He looked at one of the holes closer. It didn't seem to go through the whole wall. He poked at it with a claw to hear a small 'tink'. He dug carefully inside a hole to see a small tube with a wire connecting it to power. He took a second to think before it dawned on him. He touched a couple other holes and a chilling realization went through him.

"Sango... These are cameras."


	3. Going Back to School

Inuyasha walked through his shit apartment, looking at the horrid condition of every apartment he passed until he got to his door. Before he got to unlock it, it opened with a loud SQUEAK. Unprepared for another war, Inuyasha flinched as he saw Miroku standing there, in Inuyasha's pajamas and holding the last Fizzy Pop.

"Inuyasha! So glad of you to join me! I cooked some dinner for us, so hop in the shower and get ready for a feast!" Miroku smiled with excitement, looking at Inuyasha's face that seemed to go chalk white.

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment-"

"I moved in! They don't have any units open so you volunteered. Why wouldn't you want to help out an old buddy?" Miroku wasn't really asking, and Inuyasha knew that as he stepped through the door to close it.

Inuyasha sighed, too worn out from all the road accidents that seemed to be popping up like popcorn. "At least you made food." Inuyasha followed Miroku after putting his stuff down to see a soul crushing sight: 2 plates of high quality, colorful foods on a very empty table. "You didn't even make anything else? That's not going to fill me up."

Miroku feigned hurt. "You don't like it? It's very good for you."

Inuyasha just callously skipped the table to his kitchen and opened his cabinet to have packets of Ramen fall out. "If it's not Ramen, it's not dinner." He then took a good portion of the Ramen that fell and shoved it back in the cabinet, once again in a position to make it burst open again.

Miroku stared at the sight before him. 'How can he live like that?'

Miroku calmly drank some tea while waiting for Inuyasha to wake up, looking at the barren walls and holes around the apartment. The only thing that was decorating this place was a poster of Ramen above the couch. Just a few basic essentials, a TV, couch, dining table and an empty desk. Miroku would dare never enter Inuyasha's room. Too many terrible memories of Inuyasha being a grouch in the morning.

Miroku stared at the Ramen poster with nothing else to look at. 'Kagome was such a nice person, and such a good influence for Inuyasha. She seemed so normal, if not a little distant, but damn. We all had exams in school, everyone was a little distant... Right?'

He walked over to the Ramen poster and touched it, to have it drop and show another hole.

Inuyasha walked in, freshly showered and noticed the poster. "What the fuck did you do to my poster?"

Miroku ignored him, exasperated on a level that only Inuyasha could cause. "Did Kagome's case get re-opened? What's the plan?"

Inuyasha nodded. "I don't think there's a problem, got the okay on a voicemail in the shower. We're going to find her. I talked with her brother a little bit, and we found some disturbing evidence." He grimaced a little at the thought. "I think someone was watching her in her room. We found cameras and a peep hole. Nothing else really. Just a little picture, but we can't make out what it's supposed to be."

Miroku stroked his chin before having an epiphany. "We?"

Inuyasha looked annoyed. "Yes, we. I have a new partner for this case. In fact, I may just dump her on you so I can do this in peace." The nagging thought of the encryption flashdrive mocked him. Seemingly out of nowhere, Inuyasha growled at the thought of Totosai doing this to him.

Miroku put his hands up, "Whoah, whoah, it's a lady and you're getting frustrated? You don't appreciate a woman's sense of beauty and power."

'I used to,' thought Inuyasha, remembering the sweet girl.

The apartment door emitted a knocking, and Inuyasha walked over to the door, carefully opening it to reveal Sango. "What are you doing here Sango? We were going to meet at the station."

Sango smiled and said, "I thought maybe you could use a break from driving, seeing how it's driving you crazy."

Inuyasha scoffed but nodded, grabbing his work bag and slinging it on his shoulder. "Fine, but it's just you and me."

Miroku appeared with new clothes and shoes, walking up to Sango. "My lovely fair maiden, I would love to join you on this quest. And I will keep you safe." And with that, he knelt down, kissed her hand, and...

Inuyasha heard Sango gasp and she slapped him, doing a tactical take-down and immediately handcuffing him. "YOU THINK YOU CAN TOUCH ME YOU PERVERT!"

"Miroku, did you really have to do that?"

"It's merely a courtesy."

"Is it also courtesy to be arrested, while you're living with ME?" Inuyasha grunted, leading Miroku out of the police station.

"I was just trying to get a feel for her personality."

"Feel for her personality? From her ass?" Inuyasha let out a small scream. "We had to waste half the day getting you out! She's pressing charges against you!"

Miroku shrugged. "Now I know what she's like, and I think she's the one for me." They walked outside together to Inuyasha's car. "Thank for picking me up and bailing me out, you're a true friend."

"Since Sango wont be joining us for OBVIOUS reasons," he glared, "We will do this first." Inuyasha stopped in front of the high school in his now crumb – covered car. Miroku, finishing off a very flaky muffin, nodded approvingly, crumbs flying out of his mouth, "Yes, that's good Inuyasha, who should we talk to?"

Inuyasha felt himself die a little watching the spectacle that was Miroku's mouth. Inuyasha looked at all the crumbs from the granola bars from the beginning of the ride. He felt slightly disassociated seeing the mess in his once pristine joy. "Did you get crumbs in the fucking air vents?"

Miroku ignored the quest and got out happily, ready to take on and start finding out what truly happened to Kagome Higurashi. Inuyasha followed soon, eyes looking slightly watery. Inuyasha walked past the front gate, not even bothering to lock the car out of spite.

Miroku, staying a very safe distance behind him, felt overwhelmed with nostalgia. It was only 10 years ago, yet so many things have happened. Never in a million years did he think he'd be back with Inuyasha to look for their missing friend. Nothing had really changed in the school, minus the posters and flow of new students.

They walked together, entering the main office, Inuyasha asking for the Principal.

"Yes, right away, what is this concerning?" a bored secretary asked Inuyasha. She looked neat but uninterested, perhaps because it was almost the end of school, and she was already checked out.

"It's about a student that has been missing. Kagome Higurashi. We need to ask the staff a few questions."

She nodded and sent out a page. The men took a seat in the room, putting their briefcases beside them.

"So, what do we ask him?"

Inuyasha replied, "We're going to get permission to ask around for the staff. Kagome was in a couple clubs here, or maybe some teachers remember something."

After 20 minutes, Principal Kouga walked in, already knowing who he was about to feud with. "Inusasha, right?" he flatly asked.

"DECTECTIVE INUYASHA, but you know that, don'tcha? How the hell did you become principal?"

"Assistant principal, the principal is out today, so you get to deal with me, defective – I mean, detective." Kouga laughed to himself as Inuyasha flourished in rage. "It's been a long time, haven't seen you since the prom. You were standing in a corner pretending to have friends," he laughed.

Inuyasha's hand went slightly for the taser on his belt. Miroku saw this and grabbed Inuyasha's hand quickly, laughing and gripping Inuyasha's hand with surprising strength. "Principal Kouga! I'm Miroku, and I have to say, this is a lovely establishment that I also went to, but I was in a younger class. THIS is my BOYFRIEND, and WE are investigating the missing former student, Kagome Higurashi, and it would be just DANDY if we could ask around and maybe get some leads as to what happened with her."

Kouga, looking like he had been high-fived in the back as hard as possible, stared at them. Inuyasha had the same look on his face, except staring at Miroku.

Kouga composed himself slightly. "I see... I got nothing against you if you're gay, don't worry. We don't discriminate anyone. But that doesn't excuse being an airhead. Go ahead and talk to the teachers. Classes should be out soon, just wait until the bell." And with another puzzled stare, Kouga went behind the main office to his office.

Inuyasha, feeling like he had a stroke, looked away from Miroku before realizing he was still holding his hand. He yanked it out and bared his teeth at Miroku before storming out of the office, slamming the door shut on Miroku.

"Kagome Higurashi? I remember her," recalled an old woman.

Inuyasha nodded, pencil and notebook in hand. "What do you remember about her Madam Kaede?"

Kaede tapped her desk she was sitting at, too frail to stand up on command anymore. "She was in herbology, and she joined our gardening club."

"And did she enoy it?"

"Of course. She was a natural. She seemed like maybe she wanted to dedicate her life to it. Maybe make herbal medicines for the less fortunate." Kaede smiled, but it faltered. "Unfortunately, she quit the last couple months before graduation. I asked her why she would do such a thing, but the only thing she said was that it was for the best. I could swear I saw a tear in her eye when she told me. I hadn't seen her since, besides in the news."

Miroku watched from a corner across the room, taking in the information carefully. Inuyasha wrote some things down, confused but curious.

"I see. We will do our best to look for her, and if you remember anything, here's my card, call me," Inuyasha stated, giving her an official police business card. He gave a bow, and both men left the room, walking down the hall at a slow pace. Inuyasha, still writing, asked, "What do you think, Miroku?"

"It sounds so strange that Kagome would stop something she loved. Especially since she thought she was going to have a career in that field. Hmm." Miroku looked down the halls at other doors, trying to see if he could find something he recognized to help. "Was she in any other clubs?"

Inuyasha, not looking up from his notebook, sighed. Miroku took a glance at the notebook and gave an Inuyasha of "Really?" look when he saw he was writing down his grocery list; assortments of Ramen. "You didn't write anything down or type any notes Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha scoffed. "I can't use my laptop right now, for bullshit reasons. And I'm hungry. I don't want to forget."

Miroku laughed. "You only eat Ramen and you still make a list so you don't forget?"

Inuyasha looked at him. "I don't think she was in any other clubs. Maybe her study hall?" They walked to the end of the hall down a corridor to Ms. Ayame's room. They knocked, heard a small, "Come in," and they entered. She was always the nicest teacher in class. Inuyasha and Miroku greeted her, as they went through their case.

"Oh," Ayame gasped. "I didn't even know she was missing. She was here all of Senior year."

"I know, but we have had reports of her acting strange the last few months of Senior year. Can you tell me anything about that time?" Inuyasha looked at her, unable to hide the hope on his face.

"Actually, yes. I had her for study hall all 4 years, and the last few months before graduation, she kept asking to have a pass to the technology lab for some questions. I remember the look on her face when she asked, she seemed like she really really needed to ask about things." Ayame seemed disturbed, which was enough to disturb Inuyasha. "Thank you, we will go ask around there. Anything else you can tell us?"

Ayame said, "No. I'm sorry. I wish you guys luck."

They exited, remembering the way to the technology lab. It was a pretty decent size with many types of technology modules. Robotics, computers, programming. Too many things to remember. 'God, where do I start?' Inuyasha thought. He looked at the massive wing, all divided into subsections. One by one, they went around, asking the different instructors about Kagome, yet none said they heard of her. On their way to leave, they saw a young boy staring at them strangely.

Inuyasha returned the gaze, and getting a sense, walked over to him. "Hey kid, you know anything about this girl?" He pulled out a picture of Kagome, and the boy stay quiet. "Seriously kid, if you know something, you need to tell me. It's important."

The child nodded. "She came over to my house once. I don't remember when, but she seemed really scared."

Inuyasha perked up. "Scared how? Why was she there?"

The boy was wringing his hands while looking down. "She... was asking about cameras. She talked to my brother. I didn't understand anything they were talking about. I'm sorry." He sniffled a bit.

Inuyasha, surprised, asked him, "Who is your brother?"


	4. Herbal Essence

Authors note: I had spacing in my original format, but it clearly didn't show up the last few chapters, so I'll try to make it more apparent. So sorry about that! If you have suggestions, please go ahead and tell me! I have made few plans for this story, I'm just kinda free-handing a bit, with some things in mind for the future, but that's about it. I'm trying to keep all characters authentic, no one made up. As you guys can see, I really hate describing things. You know what everyone looks like. I'm more of a dialogue person.

And, if my writing style ever seems inconsistent, I would like to apologize, I actually have DID, or more known as Multiple Personality Disorder. And since I'm using writing this story as an outlet for all the horrible things that happen, some personalities may put a say in here. Thanks.

XSTORYX XTIMEX

"Did we have to bring him?" asked Sango, looking at Miroku from her rearview mirror.

As they were driving down the gravel road, all three looked slightly nervous about what they were going to find out. Inuyasha was in the passenger seat, letting Sango mercifully take on traffic. He too looked at Miroku to find him undressing Sango with his eyes.

"Hey! Pervert!" he shouted, "I'm watching you, and if you fuck this up, I wont bail you out of jail this time. You got it?"

Miroku just laughed it off. "How can I not stare at the both of you? Between my boyfriend and the lovely woman before me, we could be unstoppable."

Sango slightly shivered as she pulled in a small hut. Although so small, she could see the natural beauty of the forest just a few steps from it. Inuyasha walked up next to her. She asked, "Why did we even take him with us? You don't seem to like this."

Inuyasha shrugged as everyone walked up to the door. Feeling something off, Inuyasha knocked hesitantly. He shot Sango and Miroku a look, and they both understood to be on guard.

The door opened to show a slovenly wolf demon, beer in hand, leaning against the door for support. "What... you want?"

Inuyasha held out Kagome's photograph. "You are Kai right? Do you remember seeing this girl?"

Kai looked down, taking a moment to focus. "Yeah. That bitch was messed up. How did you find me?"

"Your little brother was in the computer lab, and he told us that she's been here."

Kai chortled. "Yeah, she was asking about some camera thing. She wanted to know if they can be blocked by.. transmission."

Inuyasha gave an annoyed look. "What the hell are you trying to say?"

"TRANSMITTER!" he screamed. At that moment, a young fox demon ran out of the house, latching onto Sango's leg. Sango, shocked, instinctively held onto him, rubbing his back.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked him.

He didn't say anything, not even cry. Just held onto her.

Inuyasha peered over the the wolf's shoulder into the hut. Garbage and alcohol all over the place, ruining what could have been a quaint cottage. "You really let a young kid stay in there? It fuckin' stinks."

Kai laughed. "You want it? I was done with it anyways."

Inuyasha bit his lip to prevent a growl, while his claws pierced his hands.

Sango took over. "Is there anything else you can tell us about her?"

Kai thought for a moment, chugging the last of the beer in his hand before tossing it behind him, which ricocheted off the beam before hitting Inuyasha on the head. Kai belched before adding on, "Asked if she could just leave, but she wouldn't. Said there was too much at stake." He sat down against the door frame, giving a yawn before promptly slipping into a drunken comatose.

Inuyasha rubbed his head before looking at the young demon. "Shit. What do we do about this?"

Sango picked up the fox demon. "What's your name little guy?"

"Shippo," he quietly spoke.

XENDX XSCENEX

Miroku and Inuyasha gave an exhausted sigh as they collapsed in Inuyasha's apaprtment chairs, just two sad looking wooden chairs that look like they could hold a paperclip. The chairs squeaked with pain, holding the two men.

"Thank god Sango took Shippo, that kid wouldn't shut up as soon as he got in the car," Inuyasha complained.

Miroku nodded in agreement, staring at the ceiling, still half deaf from the demon talking the whole way. "CPS is a bitch to handle. At least he didn't have to go to a foster home or anything." Miroku lazily grabbed a small bag in the corner of the room and leaned onto the table separating them. "But I have something that might help us relax." From the small bag he produced a few joints, horribly wrapped.

Inuyasha scoffed, "You still smoke that shit?"

"Hey man, sometimes, one has to get in touch with themselves, y'know, get a little... herbal." Miroku held out a joint. "You know you want to."

Inuyasha looked at it, only hesitating for a second before looking around and taking the joint. "Where's the lighter?"

Miroku paused. "Must have forgotten one."

XENDX XSCENEX

Inuyasha walked back into the apartment, too furious to remember the door squeak of death, which only hindered him for a second before slamming it shut. Miroku, finishing a toke from a joint looked to him from the chair he hadn't moved from. "You're back, I don't know why you went all the way to the store when you have a perfectly good neighbor."

Inuyasha, turning red in the face, just stomped over to him and stole the joint, plopping down next to him and throwing the lighter at Miroku's eyes. Miroku dodged it only slightly, getting it in the temple. "Pizza, boy? You want a pizza? Who wants a pizza?" Miroku asked like talking to a small puppy.

Inuyasha growled while taking an extensive hit from the burning herbs, Miroku dialing at an intense speed. "God Inuyasha, you're so hungry you've turned hangry."

A short hour later and they were both happily munching on pizza ((Author's note: I tried to capitalize pizza here, I guess I must be hungry)) and starting up another joint. They were both so at ease that they didn't notice the knock at the front door. They both got started with a loud squeak that they never anticipated in their altered states.

"Inuyasha? Miroku?"

They looked to see Sango, looking at them like they had low intelligence, seeing the pizza sprawled out on the floor with joints, 10 lighters from Inuyasha's store trip, and 6 bows of Ramen and Ramen juice surrounding them, both sprawled on the floor by the chairs. At this point, both were shirtless, and trippy background music was coming from Miroku's phone.

"Oh Jesus. You guys smoke pot? What are you, 12?"

Miroku shook his finger at her, smiling with droopy red eyes. "Oh Sango, my dear, everyone uses it for medicinal purposes nowadays. Why don't you have some medicine."

Inuyasha, eyes closed now, into the music, offered a mild, "Yeah Sango, lighten up, you're always so intense."

Sango shook her head. "You guys, did you not see me in uniform? I was leaving the police station after sending Shippo to the hospital overnight for observation when one of the rookies got a complaint of pot coming from your apartment. I personally took it so I could tell you guys to knock it off."

Miroku and Inuyasha both laughed hysterically at Sango's hardened face, offering the joint in front of them to her. Inuyasha spoke first, "Sango, chill out. It's been hard to deal with this stuff," he said with a straightened face. "Kagome was my friend. I cry at night just thinking about her sometimes."

Sango looked at him, dumbfounded and shocked at his unusually open admission.

Miroku looked at her, also with seriousness. "We've been doing our best, and sometimes... we can't help but try to piece it together in our minds, and cry tears together, as teardrop brothers.

Sango dropped her jaw, "Miroku..."

Inuyasha and Miroku looked at each other before bursting out laughing even harder, Inuyasha with tears in his eyes and Miroku held onto the chair nearby for breathing support.

"Seriously Miroku, teardrop brothers, what garbage is that?" Inuyasha said, still trying to stop laughing.

Miroku, gasping between breaths, choked out a, "I... I don't know man, I panicked."

Sango, looking like she just witnessed a child murder, grabbed the rest of the joints, screamed curse words throughout the rest of the apartment as she slammed the door shut so hard it fell off the top hinge and was now laying sideways.

XENDX XSCENEX


	5. Possible Motive

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope it's all been good so far, I'm going to try to make this a longer chapter. DID is pretty much making life a full time job, and I've been switching back and forth so many times a day and it's super exhausting.

XNEWX XSCENEX

Yawning, Inuyasha walked into the police station, scanning his badge at the front, walking through the turnstyle, only to be smacked in the groin from the turnstyle not moving forward. The woman at the front desk looked slightly terrified, already knowing Inuyasha's temper. "Um... Sir, your... card says you need to talk to the Lt before entering."

Inuyasha glared. "What the fuck for?"

Totosai appeared from the shadows behind Inuyasha, making Inuyasha freeze in fear before turning around to confront him.

"Lt, I'm trying to get some work done and you're being a real pain-in-the-ass about it," he said flatly.

Totosai nodded absently. "Yes, I know. But there's a reason I wanted to talk to you. You haven't been doing your paperwork."

"You locked my computer."

"To promote teamwork, so that means you haven't even asked Sango for the encryption key?"

Inuyasha scoffed. "Why would I ask her that? She's practically babysitting me, she should write all the reports you're so intent on getting."

Sango walked in the entrance to find the two giving each other unamused looks. "Uh, hey, Lt, Inuyasha, everything okay?"

Inuyasha turned to look at her, giving a grunt. "I need that stupid encryption key. Give it."

Sango looked at him, giggling but surprised. "He doesn't know does he?"

Totosai shook his head, then gave a shrug and walked off.

Inuyasha watched him leave. "Know about what exactly?"

"Oh Inuyasha. There was no encryption key. He figured you were too lazy to look, so he just said that." Sango scanned her badge at the front and let both of them in. Inuyasha grumbled behind her, mentioning needing another joint. They arrived at their desks, now situated against each other for this case. They sat down and opened up their briefcases, spreading out papers on every inch of the desk.

"Alright Sango. Let's go over what we know, and figure out what to do from here," said Inuyasha.

"Right. So, we found cameras in Kagome's room, and that peep hole. Found out she was acting weird for the last few months she was here, and she knew about the cameras."

"That is weird that she knew about the cameras. But she didn't want to disable it manually."

Sango leaned back in her chair, looking at some of the papers. "I guess whoever put those there was in it for a really long haul. They must have been planning this for a really long time."

"That means that maybe... they scoped her out?"

"She must have something that they want. And.. why set up the cameras? Why not just take her?"

"Because..." Inuyasha stopped to think. "Why would they wait to take her? She... disappeared after graduation. So they didn't want to set off any alarms."

Sango nodded. "That sounds right. Kai also said something about being too much at stake. What could that mean?"

"I'm not sure. But with those cameras around, she didn't want anyone mixed up in this." Inuyasha's breath caught in his chest. 'She wanted to do this alone, that's why she was pushing everyone away. Oh my god, Kagome, you idiot. Why did you do that? You could have said something, to anyone, anyone!'

Sango saw the looks playing across Inuyasha's face, giving a small cough to bring him back to reality. "Inuyasha, there's obviously a lot going in this case. Are you sure you can handle it?"

Inuyasha broke free of the trance and gave a quick affirmative and looked back at the pile of papers. "So where should we go from here?"

Sango was puzzled. "I'm not sure. We can exactly find out if she had anything special. All of her stuff is gone. Also, why did she go to Kai? Kai seems like a super unlikely guy to go to for this. She must have really been desperate."

'God Kagome, why didn't you come to me for help?' Inuyasha scowled, turning slightly angry at the thought of her not coming to him. "Well, to me, it's clear she didn't go willingly, or she was taken after months of planning."

"I agree Inuyasha. Let's see..." Sango looked at the drawing from Kagome's house. "This drawing has to mean something..."

XENDX XSCENEX

Kagome's eyes slightly opened, finding no reason to even bother opening them the rest of the way. She was so alone. Sacrificing herself for the greater good. That's how it's supposed to be right? Someone's got to fill that roll in life.

She rolled over in the cheap bedset to look at the alarm clock in the floor. "This is literally my life. This bed and alarm clock." She couldn't help but slip that out loud looking around the room after groaning. "Except..."

The poster above her bed in the cement room was a powerful reminder of what's at stake. A map of a city with mutiple circles on it.

"There's no way that can be real..." She said softly to herself. 'There's no way he could have planted all those there.' She reached her arm to touch the paper above her.

The cement door opened, shining light on a pale, skinny Kagome. She looked at the well-dressed figure in front of her, not bothering to show any fear. She reluctantly stood up, still half dressed, looking stressed.

"Kagome, I see you were admiring my work. I assure you it's real," he said.

"Naraku... You need to stop this. This is crazy," she said, no effort behind her voice. The empty stomach pains took any fight out of her.

"You don't get to tell me what to do. Don't make my dream a reality," he said calmly, pointing to the poster. "Today is the test, don't make me regret giving you a second chance to live after the first test."

Kagome said nothing as she walked to the door, letting Naraku leave first, the slightly gleaming on his expensive suit. Kagome exited and let him close to door. 'This is the only chance to see outside, otherwise...'

They walked through a cement corridor, posters of grass and flowers on each side of the hallway. Quickly they arrived in a lab-like setting. Naraku took a seat at a desk and watched Kagome as she opened some cabinets to get some white bottles and laid them across the desk.

Naraku nodded approvingly. "So, how does this work?"

XENDX XSCENEX

((AN: If you guys want Kagome's role more secretive or if you're nosy little shits and wanna have everything laid out until the end, let me know. Otherwise, I'll just do what I do.))

Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Inuyasha all sat down to the both, all four a chorus of empty tummy rumbles. Sango and Shippo sat facing Miroku and Inuyasha, all looking famished.

Sango moaned slightly. "This is a lot of work, and a lot of paperwork," she said, kicking Inuyasha from under the booth. "It makes me so damn hungry."

Miroku tried to reach for her hand in assurement as she brought it back to hug Shippo for relief. He looked at Shippo with jealous puppy eyes. "Sango, it will be over soon. Don't worry."

Inuyasha held a slight grip on his empty stomach. "We're god damn police officers, I can't believe they can't serve us any faster," he griped, knocking down their numbered order card stand. "Hey, let's get a move on here, some of us have criminals to catch, unless you want to go first!" He pointed exaggeratingly at the poor teenage cashier boy, looking like he's about to shit himself. He ran to the back of the fast food joint and screamed something incomprehensible to the rest of the staff.

Sango gave Inuyasha a frown before giving a sigh of relenting. "At least we have a good idea of what was going on there.. Well sort of. It's such a strange case. Who wants to kidnap a teenage girl in such a cruel manner?"

Inuyasha pulled out a set of markers and notebook, throwing it to Shippo, who looked at them in amazement. "They're your's kid. Take good care of 'em."

Shippo laughed and took his new gifts under the table to draw in peace.

Miroku smiled at the soft gesture. "Unfortunately, I have no idea. This all seems really over the top and complicated. She must have had something special, or did something special."

Inuyasha nodded. "That's what we were thinking too."

Sango perked up. "What about her laptop? I'm sure there's a way to track it down, or maybe her brother still has it."

"I agree. It's a good shot. Anyone else got an idea?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha concentrated on the theories runnning through his mind. "We need to see if she did anything else besides school. Maybe she was working somewhere secret? But where would we even begin to look?"

"Well, what did she like?" asked Sango. "You guys knew her better than anyone."

Everyone thoughts for a moment before seeing a hand bring down trays of food. They momentarily stopped to grab whatever food they could. After a moment to relish the feeling of food, Sango giving Shippo's under the table to him, they went back to discussion.

"She liked to sing, dance.."

"Rollerblading."

"History, folklore.."

Sango cut them off. "No, guys, this needs to be something she could do really really. Enough to target her for a reason. After a little thinking... it doesn't make sense for someone to spy long term like that and just want to steal something. She clearly didn't have anything of value that we could tell. So she's got to be special somehow."

Inuyasha chomped thoughtfully. "Maybe she was a good singer, someone kidnapped her for her voice."

Miroku choked back a piece of food. "Um... nope definitely not it. She was definitely not a good singer."

Sango looked at him surprised, now starting to finally feel full. "How do you know that?"

"Yeah, how?" Inuyasha questioned.

Miroku turned a little red. "I might have listened to her in the shower. I stopped after she started to sing."

"You fucking idiot." Inuyasha said, finishing off the last of the food on the trays. "What do you say we take this party to go?"

Everyone nodded, full and content.

XENDX XSCENEX

At the Ramen Shop, Inuyasha was slurping happily on the the noddles, courtesy of the $4.99 Ramen-all-you-can-eat Special.

Miroku looked green watching Inuyasha eating without stopping. "That last place didn't fill you up?"

"Nope."

Sango clenched her stomach to calm it down looking before her. "What else would Kagome like to do?"

Shippo watched Inuyasha get up and walk back to the Ramen Buffet. He pulled out a piece of paper from the notebook to draw a crude Inuyasha.

"Maybe something about her herbology? Madam Kaede said Kagome was really good at it," said Miroku, trying not to inhale the aroma too much.

In the background, Inuyasha's voice was faintly heard. "Do you guys have bigger bowls? Can I just take the pot? It's slowing me down." Faint pause. "Look, I have a badge... But..."

"Did Kaede say she was a good student?"

Miroku got slightly excited. "Yeah, actually. She said Kagome was really good."

Miroku's excitement was contagious, and Sango perked up. "Maybe we should go back to her teacher to see if she did anything worth getting into trouble. I can't imagine what for."

Inuyasha sat down with a chef's size pot of fresh Ramen, sloshing hot juices all over the table, slightly scalding everyone. "What did I miss?"

Sango frowned at him. "We're going to go interview Madam Kaede again, since I wasn't there the first time you went. We thinkg there's a good chance it had something to do with her herbology skills."

Inuyasha happily took a hot heaping helping of Ramen and stuffed his mouth. Just as he was about to take another bite, a man in a chef's outfit walked up to the table, grabbed the Ramen pot with oven mitts, shot Inuyasha a glare, which he challenged back as Sango quickly told the chef to take it back.

XENDX XSCENEX


	6. Ramen Hangover Strikes Again

((AN: Thank you to everyone who reads this or giving it a try. This is really just something for cheap laughs. I would like to thank my biggest supporter, Rolls, my guinea pig. She's a very harsh critic.

And in case anyone was curious about the DID: It's not like having anime characters fused in me. It's life-inhibiting, diagnosed DID, complete with currently 4 active personalities. I actually skipped time yesterday after a panic attack, and I remember nothing after. I "woke up" with a huge headache. It sounds a lot cooler than it is..))

XNEWX XSCENEX

Inuyasha and Miroku sat on Inuyasha's couch, after Ramen hopping until 3AM. Sango, with some sense of reality, left at 10pm with Shippo to get some rest. Miroku was sprawled across one half and Inuyasha the other, an occasional sweating grunt coming from the two while trying to catch their breath; The elevator being closed for maintenance and the stairs welcoming all those who stand before them. The stairs had unusually high steps, making it a challenge to traverse them after a night of bingeing on Ramen.

"You stupid idiot, why aren't you fixing the god damn elevator?" asked Inuyasha.

Miroku panted to catch his breath. "I took a vacation. They need a replacement."

"Are you serious? Why did you even get this job?"

"I thought it would be a good learning opportunity," he chuckled.

Miroku rolled onto the floor, Inuyasha now sprawling across the whole couch. Miroku reached under the cushion of Inuyasha's head to pull out a couple of joints. Inuyasha looked at them hungrily.

"Oh god, bless you Miroku," he praised as he took one. "Where was the lighter last?"

Miroku reached for the cushion under Inuyasha's ass as Inuyasha slapped his hand away and got it himself. 'Like I'm going to trust him with the goods,' he thought.

They lit them both, Inuyasha quickly glancing at his watch to look at the time. 'Oh shit. We need to get to bed. We got that interview tomorrow.'

"Inuyasha, should you be really smoking in your uniform?" Miroku asked, blowing a cloud to Inuyasha's clothes.

Inuyasha gave a half-hearted glare, pain coursing through his stomach at the slight tenseness of movement. "Shut the hell up," he said, both men starting to drift from consciousness.

XENDX XSCENEX

Sango walked the the school hallways, annoyed to be doing this solo. Inuyasha had called "sick" but she didn't buy it for a second, seeing as how he was perfectly happy and healthy draining each restaurant. She walked up to Madam Kaede's door, made sure no students were in it, and gave a knock. She entered to an elder woman with an eyepatch greeting her. She sat in a worn down wheelchair, an assortment of sweets in front of her on the desk.

"Madam Kaede? My name is Sango with the police, and I have a few questions for you if you don't mind."

"Oh, of course. I had a couple officers come speak to me not too long ago asking about a student. Is it the same reason you're here?" Kaede said, offering Sango a seat in front of her desk. "Please excuse me for not getting up. It's not worth the effort anymore."

Sango sat down, gave the woman a business card, and nodded. "I'm afraid so. We've had some developments on the case, and it looks rather disturbing. We, er, I guess I, myself, would really appreciate it if you had any records on Kagome Higurashi that you kept."

Kaede gave a pause. "I might have some things stored in my files, but the most work that was stored are on the walls of this classroom." She motioned towards the walls to show many posters of plants, names, instructions, and facts. "Since Kagome was a good student, one of the best I've ever seen, she is on many of these walls."

Sango was surprised, and taking a cookie of the desk after a gracious offer from Kaede, stood up to look at the walls.

"Sango, I will take a look at the files and see what's left. Feel free to look around."

Kaede rolled over to the cabinets nearby to look for any files to help. Sango looked at the walls looking for anything in Kagome's name. Not too far in the first wall was her first clue. A poster with Kagome's signature. It appeared to be a list of words Sango didn't understand. "Madam Kaede, what is this? 'Sakura Blossom'?"

Kaede replied without turning around. "That is just one of the many things Kagome invented."

"She invented a flower?"

"If you look closely, you'll see many names on there. That list is a list of plants combined to make what Kagome called Sakura Blossom," she said.

Sango was puzzled. "What was the purpose of this Sakura Blossom?"

"It was a mixture of plants to help with skin rejuvenation."

Sango looked at her amused. "That made it up here? Really?"

"It was widely popular in the class."

Sango looked for the next Kagome piece. She found it, with the label of Buzz. "And Buzz?"

Kaede still rifled though the cabinet, feeling slightly frustrated. "Buzz was a tea to give natural energy."

Sango sighed. This seemed to be getting nowhere fast. "Is there anything that she invented that someone might want? Enough to take it by force?"

Kaede stopped rifling to look at her. "You can't be serious. Nothing in this class would be considered high end. All of these are common plants and ingrediants that everyone has access to." She looked back and pulled out a folder with a big K in black marker. "I have the file for you if you would like to look at it."

Sango nodded. "I'll take a look at it shortly. Let me finish looking at all these papers. Kagome has so many on here now that I'm seeing all these." She kept looking. So many recipes for topicals and teas. Hydrolite, Battery, Petal Distortion, all names of things Kagome created in her name. Nothing appeared to be useful for the case, so Sango went back to sitting at the desk and and took the file. Only a single page, it had Kagome's student information and 2 incident reports noted. "Kagome has some accidents in here?"

Kaede gave a sad smile. "Yes, but that's pretty good for a student who was in herbology for so long."

"It says here a blended plant mixture got thrown in the air and started choking students. How bad was it?"

"It wasn't serious thankfully, I think someone may have tripped on the table, and the substance was powdery. We had to do a small evacuation of the room."

"And the other one? It doesn't have any information other than the date and mentioning something called Arce?"

"Arce was an art and science fair. Kagome wanted to try to compete. It's actually strange because I thought Kagome would win. I sadly don't remember what she entered, but I remember being impressed by it. She didn't get any award."

Sango flipped the blank page over and confirmed there was nothing on the back. "Is there someone who has those records for Arce?"

"Yes actually. The chemistry department and art department both collaborate for once a year competitions. Since Kagome used me for art, she would need a science teacher. And a partner – everyone had a partner for that year. I remember her saying she didn't like her partner."

"I don't suppose you know who her partner was?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Sango gave a comforting smile. "Thank you so much Madam Kaede, this has been a huge help. You keep that business card and let me know if anything comes to mind."

They said warm goodbyes, and finally Sango left the school. She got in her car and wrote what she learned from today down on her notepad. 'I definitely need to talk to Inuyasha. We need to track down these people.'

XENDX XSCENEX

"Fuckers," swore Inuyasha, signing into his police laptop.

Miroku wandered by uncomfortably close, watching the display of emotions as the loading bar on the screen started decreasing in percentage. "What's wrong with your laptop?"

Inuyasha's claws tightened around the mouse he was holding, reminding him of the days of dial-up. "It's windows '95 dude. It's horrible. Cheap-ass department."

Miroku watched with wide eyes as an error message popped up, blocking the restart button. Inuyasha tried his best not to scream, which came out as a high pitched yelp, as he pounded the power button on the laptop. After some curses and Miroku's help, the laptop finally could be used and signed into the police database.

"Got some paperwork, 'Yaaaasha?"

Inuyasha clicked on Daily Reports. "Yep." He had a short typing session before showing the screen to Miroku.

_DAILY REPORT_

_To: LT TOTOSAI_

_FROM: INUYASHA_

_Subject: :(_

Inuyasha pressed send and closed the laptop, somewhat feeling better now that he expressed himself properly. As he put his laptop back in his bag just as his landline was ringing.

"Inuyasha, why do you have a landline, it's fricken 2019."

"It's the number I give to venders when I want to scream at someone," he shrugged as he picked it up. "Yo?"

"Inuyasha, it's Sango. We need to get more information and I need your help."

"Sango? Ew," he said, scrunching his face. "I'm off work today" He hung up the phone, not even listening to anything she was saying. "I also give it to the police department. Also for the same reason."

Miroku laughed before hearing the phone again, this time grabbing it for himself. "Sango! My lovely lady. I am so happy to hear your voice."

Sango was silent on the line until finally giving a sigh. "Can you guys meet me tomorrow? Unfortunately, we need everyone on this since you all went to school together."

Miroku gave a cheer, an excited, "OF COURSE!" before agreeing to meet at the local cafe for breakfast.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the happy man. "You have a weird fascination with her. You like her?"

Miroku gave a beaming smile. "Absolutely. I sense the fierce nature of this woman. I don't mind a challenge."

XENDX XSCENEX

Naraku watched the worn woman working at the desk next to him He couldn't help but appreciate her figure, though malnourished and pale.

"You have been so useful to me. Ever since we met. You know that right?" he smirked.

Kagome never answered, too busy with the bottles and plant matter in front of her. She placed a powdery substance into a pestle and mortar, combining it with bits of materials from around the table.

"We make a good team. Don't we?" he said with a demanding tone.

"Yes we do."

"When do you think this is going to be ready for another test?"

Kagome sadly looked at him, slightly cringing. "It will be ready for another test tomorrow." Her voice trembled at the thought of another test.

Naraku gave a grin, walking over to her to put his arm around her shoulder. He kissed her cheek, wiping away a stray tear.

"It's going to be a blast. We could do so many good things together."

She said nothing, letting Naraku's fingers travel down her cheek, stopping what she was doing. She already knew the outcome that would happen. And it would mean another innocent civilian would be caught in the crossfire.

Naraku gently took her by the waist and took off Kagome's dirty apron, leading her out of the science laboratory down the hall of pictures. He opened her cement chambers and guided her in.

"Tomorrow, it will be... well, an intense test. And you'll be coming with me outside, heavily guarded mind you, to conduct it. They will be watching you," Naraku stated, glaring coldly at her.

At this point, Kagome had grown numb to the threats, she had no plans to escape. But being outside for the first time? Was it really happening? The first time in 10 years?

"Why am I coming with? You never needed me."

Naraku took out a pen from his pressed suit and twirled it in his fingers, smiling wide at her.

"It turns out some business clients are very interested in your recipe. "

Kagome's mouth dropped open, the reality of the situation sinking in. "Are... But.."

Nothing seemed to come out of her mouth that made sense, Naraku watching in amusement.

"We are going to make so much money Kagome. The deal of a lifetime. People will pay big money for what we have here. It took a long time, but it's finally paying off."

Kagome started tearing up. "I thought the plan was for... for you."

"Well, it turns out that Citrus is not only a good chemical weapon, it has other uses as well. And we are going to put it to good use."

'Oh shit. This is not good. Having this spread all over is not good,' she thought. 'Maybe...'

Naraku narrowed his eyes at her, still smiling. "I have already copied the ingredients from the security tapes, and a potent copy of a sample, so don't even think about tweaking that recipe. It needs to be perfect." And with that, he turned around and exited the room, locking the vault behind him.

She couldn't help but scream in frustration. This turned into a whole new nightmare. But at least she would be able to see outside. And maybe a demon would recognize her scent. Maybe she could get a message to someone. Something, anything to stop this.


End file.
